Chapter14
Coulson's face went pale. He staggered back several steps.
He thought of the man he'd worked under for years—if he was an alien all along…
"That's impossible!"
"Don't believe me?" Yang Jian shrugged.
"Check for yourselves. But I suggest you be careful. Skrulls can perfectly imitate anyone—your colleagues, friends, even family."
Natasha's fingertips tightened briefly, but her professionalism snapped back into place. "Why tell us this?"
"Because I'm bored." Yang Jian took another sip of wine.
"And you lot are still Earth's front line. If you all get replaced by aliens, it'll be more trouble than it's worth."
Wanda stood to the side. Scarlet energy silently flowed around her fingers as she eyed Natasha and Coulson warily. "Are the two of them real?"
Yang Jian glanced over. "For now, yes."
He looked back at the stunned pair. "You have two options right now."
"One: stay here and wait to die. Once the Skrulls realize their leader's gone dark, the first thing they'll do is purge anyone who knows."
"Two: go back and find out how many Hydra and Skrulls are already embedded on Earth. Kill them before they can react."
Natasha took a deep breath and nodded.
"Looks like you've got work to do." Yang Jian lazily sank back into the sofa.
"Don't let me keep you."
Natasha gave Yang Jian one long, hard look, then turned toward the door. "Coulson, we're leaving."
Coulson hesitated. "But the Director—I mean, that alien—"
"Take the body." Natasha didn't look back.
"We deal with the rest after we clean house."
The two hurried out. The villa fell quiet again.
Wanda walked to the window, watching the black SUV disappear down the road. "Will they believe us?"
"Doesn't matter."
Yang Jian gazed upward. He knew the real Nick Fury was almost certainly aware of everything that had just happened.
"The real war hasn't even started yet."
...
S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters30 Minutes Later
Natasha and Coulson stood in an empty conference room. The holographic display showed dozens of red-flagged agent files—all potential Skrulls or Hydra with anomalous bio-readings.
"Fuck!" Coulson rubbed his temples.
"If this is real, S.H.I.E.L.D. is rotten to the core."
Natasha was silent for a moment, then spoke. "Coulson, right now I'm the highest-ranking active agent. I'm ordering you to assume temporary command until the World Security Council appoints a new director."
"What do we do?" Coulson stared at the list, voice shaking, finger hovering over the full-alert button.
"If we trigger internal purge protocol, we risk friendly fire."
Natasha had already changed into full tactical gear—two high-frequency alloy knives strapped to her waist. "No 'if.' Skrulls replicate DNA and memories perfectly. Standard scans are useless."
She pulled up one agent's recent logs. "Look at this—Agent Strutt forgot to drink coffee with his left hand. He's been left-handed for five years."
Coulson took a deep breath and slammed the alert button.
Piercing alarms blared through the entire building!
Underground Lab Corridor
Agent Strutt hurried toward the elevator. His earpiece buzzed with chaos.
"Armed conflict in Sector B!"
"Security systems breached!"
"Someone's shouting 'Skrulls'!"
His pupils narrowed to slits. Faint green scales shimmered beneath his skin.
Exposed.
He slammed open the fire stairwell door—only to stare down the barrel of a gun.
Bang!
Natasha's bullet punched clean through his forehead. Green blood sprayed the wall.
"First one." She said coldly, stepping over the body and pressing forward.
Gunfire, explosions, screams echoed down the corridors.
Natasha and Coulson moved back-to-back, taking down 17 Skrull agents along the way. But the enemy numbers were overwhelming—they were forced to shoot former colleagues.
"Southwest stairwell cleared!" A loyalist squad reported over comms.
"East wing needs backup! They've taken hostages—"
"That's not hostages!" Natasha snapped. "It's bait! Skrulls mimic memories and voices!"
...
Orbital SpaceS.W.O.R.D. Command Vessel
The real Nick Fury stood at the holographic command table, single eye fixed on one dark signal light.
Talos's life-link indicator—gone.
"Earth's in trouble." His voice was low.
Behind him, S.W.O.R.D. agents scrambled to pull data feeds. Earth-side monitoring was scrambled.
"Sir, we've lost direct contact with Triskelion HQ. Last fragments showed internal armed conflict." A technician reported.
Fury's brow furrowed. He tapped the console, opening an encrypted channel.
"Fury to Danvers."
Seconds later, the line connected.
Carol Danvers' voice came through, laced with static from interstellar range. "Fury? What's going on?"
"Talos is dead." Fury said bluntly.
"What?" Carol's tone turned ice-cold.
"Who did it?"
"Unknown." Fury shook his head.
"But whoever killed Talos either has detection tech that pierces Skrull shapeshifting… or power far beyond normal."
Silence on the other end. Then Carol's voice hardened with resolve. "I'm heading back to Earth now. Do not engage until I arrive."
"Carol—"
"This isn't a request, Fury." Her tone brooked no argument.
"The Skrulls were once my allies. If someone on Earth is slaughtering them, I need to handle it personally."
The line cut.
Fury's eye narrowed. He turned to an agent. "Pull every recent anomalous energy reading on Earth."
"Yes, sir."
Data scrolled. It locked onto one coordinate.
New York—near Hell's Kitchen.
"Energy spike exceeds parameters." The technician reported.
Fury's fingers drummed the console. His gaze deepened.
"Who the hell is this?"
EarthNew York Seaside Villa
Yang Jian sat on the sofa, idly toying with the Tesseract. Its eerie blue glow reflected across his face.
Wanda sat nearby, cradling a mug of hot tea. Her eyes kept flicking toward the windows, as if expecting trouble.
"You're worried about S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Yang Jian asked without turning.
Wanda pressed her lips together. "They won't let this go."
"Of course not." Yang Jian chuckled softly.
"But right now Fury's bigger headache is explaining Talos's death to Carol Danvers. That one won't be easy to brush off."
Wanda frowned. "Who's Carol? Will she come after you?"
"Probably." Yang Jian stored the Tesseract in system space and walked to the bar cart.
"But it doesn't matter. If she's reasonable, we can talk. If not…"
He poured himself a whiskey; ice clinked gently.
"I'll make sure she understands what kind of damage her interference causes Earth. This planet isn't her personal playground."
Wanda was quiet for a moment, then looked up. "What if she sides with S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Yang Jian took a sip and shrugged. "Then we clean house together."
Deep Space
Carol Danvers streaked through the void as a blazing golden comet, faster than light, hurtling toward Earth.
Rage burned in her eyes.
Talos—dead.
The last hope of the Skrulls, her old friend—killed on Earth.
No matter who the killer was…
They would pay.
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